Each Monday, join us for a community conversation featuring our Forces of Nature honorees! Be out in time to watch the trees awaken as dark falls.
A cash bar and light refreshments will be available beginning at 6:30pm and concluding after the evening's discussion. Monument Mondays also feature live music outside at the Gazebo beginning at 8pm.
September 9: Christopher Bradshaw
Join Dreaming Out Loud Founder and Director Chris Bradshaw as he shares his pathway to championing food security and food justice. Chris will discuss the connections between food and climate justice, which requires social and economic justice.
Music by The Mèchësa Collective (Mèchësa means Firestarter in the Lenape language). The Mèchësa Collective founder, Hope Butler-Khodaei (Piscataway), was inspired by the movie Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World of Music. The film highlighted how Indigenous musicians influenced and shaped the world of rock and roll and popular music, starting with Link Wray's (Shawnee) and his controversial guitar instrumental song, "Rumble." Wray's hometown was Dunn, NC, but around 1956, he moved to Accokeek, MD.
This collective brings together Carly Harvey, Eric Scott, Brett Walking Eagle, and HOPE, local DMV musicians of Indigenous ancestry. They are forces of nature united to defy stereotypes and amplify their distinctive, diverse voices through music.
September 16: Ramón Palencia-Calvo
Join us for an engaging discussion on building a more inclusive and diverse environmental movement, where Latino communities are not just participants but leaders in protecting our families and communities against environmental injustices.
Despite Latinos bearing a disproportionate burden from climate change, environmental injustices, and pollution, their voices are often underrepresented in the environmental movement. Hear from inspiring Latino leaders who will share their experiences and strategies for empowering our communities to take action and drive meaningful change, including Walkiria Pool from Centro de Apoyo Familiar.
Music by Erin Murphy Snedecor, Zoë Jorgenson, and Nataly Merezhuk. This trio merges live strings with the echoes of the natural world from Erin's library of field recordings as well as found objects and instruments that mimic the outdoor sounds we hear every day from bird whistle calls, rustling leaves, water, wind, and even the stray car horn from Rockville Pike.
September 23: Joelle Novey
Joelle Novey is the Director of Interfaith Power and Light (DC, MD, NoVA), through which hundreds of area congregations are responding to climate change, and speaks widely on the role that faith communities can play in the climate movement.
Joelle will be in conversation with Kristin Barker, co-founder and director of One Earth Sangha, whose mission is to cultivate a Buddhist response to ecological crises.
Performers Lucas Ashby and Niccolo Seligmann combine forces to present a nature-inspired program of ambient works drawing from over seven centuries of musical traditions from Europe and the Americas, featuring strings, percussion & electronics, samples of sounds from nature and instruments created from recycled materials.
October 7: Brenda Richardson
Join Brenda and Vanessa Batters-Thompson of DC Appleseed for a discussion on bridging access to parks and waterways for underserved communities, fostering a deeper connection to nature. Their talk will address key challenges, including health disparities, trauma, and environmental injustice.
Music by Victor Provost with Cristian Perez. The Trinidadian steelpan distinguishes itself as the only family of musical instruments created from repurposed industrial waste. Just as their enslaved ancestors had once fashioned instruments out of found materials, 20th century Afro-Trinidadians created one of the world’s newest acoustic instruments, using discarded oil drums, curiosity, and imagination. . .we can thank these early adopters of the recycling trend for their musical innovation and fearless cultural preservation.
Special thanks to these community partners who were integral to our honoree selection process:
Ruby Stemmle, Founder and CEO, EcoLatinos
Nancy Stoner, President, Potomac Riverkeeper Network
Rico Newman, leader of the Choptico Band, Piscataway-Conoy Tribe of Indians
Our Sponsors
Strathmore extends its gratitude to Kathleen Knepper for generously supporting Monuments and our programming that amplifies distinctive and diverse artistic voices.
Additional support for Monuments is generously provided by the Embassy of Australia and Ravel & Royale on Strathmore Square
